2009 KNRC Plenary Session Speakers

Plenary Session is sponsored by Westar Energy Green Team

Chris Risbrudt is the Director of the US Forest Service – Forest Products Laboratory located in Madison, WI. The lab is the nation’s foremost wood research center and has produced many innovations in uses of wood and wood science. Conversion of cellulosic materials into energy is currently one of the main focus areas of the laboratory. Risbrudt first joined the Forest Service as an economist at the Forest Products Lab that he now oversees. Since then, he has held several Director positions with the Forest Service, including the Directors of Strategic Planning and Resource Assessment Staff, Ecosystem Management Coordination, and Policy Analysis. He was also the Deputy Regional Forester of the Northern Region. Just prior to being named Director of the Forestry Products Lab, Risbrudt was the acting Deputy Chief, Programs and Legislation, at the Forest Service national headquarters. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, and master’s and doctorate degrees from Michigan State University.

Craig Cox is Midwest Vice President of Environmental Working Group (EWG) based out of Iowa. Craig is an authority on the impacts of agricultural practices on soil, water, and wildlife resources, and the risks that climate change and expanded biofuels production pose to these resources. Cox served 10 years as the Executive Director of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, was also Acting USDA Deputy Under-Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, and Special Assistant to the Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. He served two years on the staff of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Cox was also a Staff Officer with the Board on Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences where he managed several research projects. Cox began his career as a field biologist and program director with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Craig earned his bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management and his master’s degree in Agriculture and Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Brian Obermeyer is the Director of The Nature Conservancy's Flint Hills Initiative, a community-based effort to preserve the last landscape expression of tallgrass prairie in eastern Kansas. Brian works with ranchers, landowners and other stakeholders to help preserve the biological integrity of this unique region. Brian oversees stewardship activities at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (a national park owned by the Conservancy) and the Conservancy's Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. He has been a member of the Kansas Renewable Energy Working Group, and prior to his employment with the Conservancy, he conducted biological assessments and research through a company he founded, called Stream & Prairie Research. Brian was nominated by the Kansas Wildlife Federation as the Wildlife Conservationist of the Year in 2002, and, in 2005, he was recognized as an Outstanding Recent Graduate at Emporia State University. Brian holds a masters degree in Environmental Biology from Emporia State University.

Brad Loveless is the chairman of the Westar Energy Green Team and the manager of Westar Energy’s Biology and Conservation Programs. Westar Energy has initiated a variety of programs to preserve the quality of the air, land and water on and around its properties. Topeka based Westar Energy is the largest supplier of electricity in Kansas, serving 675,000 customers in the state. Brad and his Green Team have been instrumental in providing leadership and labor to many conservation, wildlife, and riparian projects in the state. Brad has been a member of the Kansas Renewable Energy Working Group and has been a chairman of the national Avian Power Line Interaction Committee. He also currently serves on the board of directors of the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education. Brad graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Ohio State University, and completed his master's at the University of Kansas.